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FRANCE  FOR  THE  SOLDIER 

A  FEW  FACTS  FOR  THE  INFORMATION 
OF  AMERICANS 


BY 

Gilbert  Chinard 

Professor  of  French  at  the  University  of  California 
TRANSLATED  BY 

J.  LOEWENBERG 

Assistant  Professor  of  Philosophy, 
University  of  California 


The  Military  Bureau  of  the  University  of  California 
is  gratified  to  include  among  its  publications  this  trans- 
lation of  Professor  Gilbert  Chinard's  Pour  Mieux 
Connaitre  la  France.  It  was  done  into  English  by 
Professor  J.  Loewenberg,  to  whom  special  thanks 
are  due. 

LEON  J.  RICHARDSON,  Director. 

July,  1918. 


FRANCE  FOR  THE  SOLDIER 

A  FEW  FACTS  FOR  THE  INFORMATION 
OF  AMERICANS 


BY 

Gilbert  Chinard 

Professor  of  French  at  the  University  of  California 
TRANSLATED  BY 

J.  LOEWENBERG 

Assistant  Professor  of  Philosophy, 
University  of  CaHfornia 


Published  by  the 

MILITARY  INFORMATION  OFFICE  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

BERKELEY 


I.      GEOGRAPHY 

Relatively  speaking,  France  is  a  small  country.  In  area 
she  covers  but  536,464  square  kilometers,  including  the 
small  islands  in  territorial  waters  and  Corsica.  She  may  be 
said  to  occupy  about  a  twentieth  part  of  the  European 
continent.  Slightly  smaller  than  Austria-Hungary,  Germany 
and  even  Spain,  France  is  larger  than  Great  Britain  and 
Italy.  The  treaty  of  Francfort,  which  wrested  Alsace- 
Lorraine  from  France  reduced  her  territory  by  14,518 
square  kilometers. 

Excepting  the  northeast,  France  has  natural  frontiers 
on  every  side.  On  the  northeast  the  boundary  is  purely 
artificial,  being  the  result  of  treaties;  but  on  the  north  she 
is  bounded  by  the  North  Sea  and  the  English  channel,  on 
the  west  by  the  Atlantic  ocean,  on  the  southwest  by  the 
Pyrenees,  on  the  southeast  by  the  Mediterranean,  and  on 
the  east  by  the  Alps,  the  Jura  and  the  Vosges. 

The  geographical  position  of  France  is  enviable.  She  is 
placed  at  the  same  distance  from  the  Equator  and  the  Pole, 
Her  climate  varies  indeed  with  different  regions,  but  owing 
to  the  Atlantic  currents  it  never  reaches  extreme  heat  or 
extreme  cold. 

On  the  other  hand,  her  position  at  the  extremity  of 
Western  Europe  has  had  for  France  certain  disadvantages. 
As  a  natural  terminus,  she  had  frequently  invited  great 
invasions  and  migrations.  The  Mediterranean  peoples  and 
the  tribes  from  the  north  had  in  the  past  striven  for 
supremacy  on  her  soil;  and  at  Chalons  in  451,  just  as  at 
the  Marne  in  1914,  France  had  checked  the  invasion  of  the 
barbarians. 

The  coasts  of  France  are  of  unusual  extension.  Because 
of  their  length,  France  is  the  most  maritime  of  the  central 
European  nations.  Important  also  is  the  fact  that  no  por- 
tion of  French  territory  is  farther  than  400  kilometers 
from  the  sea. 


.'J77920 


II.     POPULATION 

According  to  the  census  of  1911,  France  has  a  popula- 
tion of  39,601,509  inhabitants.  In  1866  her  population  was 
38  million;  in  1872,  through  the  loss  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  it 
shrank  to  36,102,000.  France  has  since  gained  three  and 
a  half  million.  In  population  she  is  behind  Russia  (125 
million),  the  United  States  (100  million),  Germany  (64 
million),  Japan  (51  million),  and  the  British  Isles  (45 
million).  Increase  in  births  has  been  very  insignificant, 
though  the  latest  figures  show  a  slight  improvement.  The 
birth  rate  is  26  per  1,000;  the  death  rate  but  20  per  1,000. 
Before  the  war  there  were  in  France  over  a  million 
foreigners  (1,372,700  in  1911).  About  30,000  immigrants 
arrive  every  year,  while  the  emigrants  have  for  the  last 
thirty  years  averaged  15,000  yearly.  These  figures  indicate 
a  certain  fixity  of  the  French  population. 

Although  the  national  feeling  which  unites  these  39  mil- 
lion people  is  very  deep,  yet  one  cannot  properly  speak  of 
them  as  a  French  race.  The  present  French  people  are  the 
result  of  a  racial  mixture  that  has  been  going  on  for  many 
centuries.  The  most  ancient  people  known  to  history  that 
occupied  a  portion  of  Gaul  are  the  Iberians.  The  Ligures 
followed  next;  and  after  taking  possession  of  the  whole 
territory  were  driven  back  towards  the  Mediterranean.  Later 
on  the  Celts,  after  several  extended  migrations  mixed  with 
the  more  ancient  population.  Their  civilization  disappeared, 
however,  soon  after  the  conquest  of  Gaul  by  Julius  Caesar. 
The  result  was  the  spread  of  Latin  culture  among  a  pre- 
dominantly Celtic  population.  The  Germanic  invasions, 
from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  century  after  Christ,  though 
modifying  but  slightly  the  people  south  of  the  Loire,  had 
a  more  considerable  effect  in  the  northeast  where  the  Franks 
settled  in  large  numbers.  The  later  invasions  had  a  less 
important  influence.  In  addition,  the  Arabs  marched 
through  the  south,  influencing  the  racial  character  of  the 
population.  The  same  holds  of  the  Normands  who  had  estab- 
lished themselves  along  the  shores  of  the  English  channel 


and  of  the  English  who  had  occupied  Aquitania  and  the 
Spanish  Franche-Comte.  All  these  mixtures  have  neces- 
sarily determined  the  racial  composition  of  France. 

While  it  is  true  that  in  certain  regions,  such  as  Brittany 
and  Auvergne,  particular  types  may  still  be  recognized,  it 
is  extremely  difficult  to  define  a  general  French  type.  "The 
French  people  are  a  people  of  individuals,"  an  American 
writer  has  recently  remarked,  "where  one  can  find  represen- 
tatives of  the  most  diverse  races." 

This  people,  racially  so  diversified,  is  nationally  hom- 
ogeneous. For  a  long  time,  but  more  particularly  since  the 
French  Revolution  (1789),  France  has  prided  herself  upon 
national  rather  then  racial  unity.  National  unity  is  the 
unity  of  individuals,  who  live  a  common  life  under  common 
institutions.  Fundamental  to  such  unity  is  voluntary  assent 
and  not  mere  historic  antiquity.  In  this  respect,  modern 
France,  which  is  composed  of  so  many  different  elements, 
resembles  strongly  the  United  States.  America,  too,  is 
inhabited  by  a  mixed  population  of  a  more  recent  origin 
and  consequently  less  amalgamated  but  nevertheless  unified 
by  the  same  desire  to  live  in  a  land  of  their  own  free  choice, 
and  under  freely  elected  institutions.  This  is  the  very  foun- 
dation of  both  French  and  American  patriotism.  And  this 
explains  why  the  French  attach  so  much  importance  to  the 
question  of  Alsace-Lorraine.  These  provinces,  torn  from 
France  is  1871,  have  for  her  more  than  a  territorial  signi- 
ficance. She  would  be  faithless  to  herself  were  she  to 
admit  that  1,500,000  Frenchmen  could  be  forcibly  retained 
under  foreign  domination  after  they  had  solemnly  expressed 
their  will  to  live  under  French  institutions.  France  is  rooted 
in  a  will  to  live  a  common  life  upon  a  soil  hallowed  by  tradi- 
tion. It  is  fair  to  say  that  France  is  a  moral  rather  than  a 
geographical  entity. 

III.      GOVERNMENT 

In  spite  of  her  long  history,  the  political  oi-gani/.ation 
of  France  is  relatively  modern.  The  present  French  Re- 
public was  proclaimed  in  1870.  Its  constitution  dates  from 
1875  and  was  amended  in   1S70  and  again  in   1SS4. 


The  French  republic  is  representative  and  democratic, 
all  Frenchmen  of  21  years  of  age  having  the  vote.  The 
legislative  power  is  centered  in  two  houses:  the  Senate  and 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  Senators  whose  number  is 
300  are  elected  for  nine  years.  The  election  for  Senators 
takes  place  every  three  years  and  affects  thus  only  one- 
third  of  the  Senate.  The  Senators  are  elected  by  dele- 
gates. The  Deputies,  however,  are  elected  directly  by  uni- 
versal suffrage  for  four  years.     Their  number  is  604. 

These  two  assemblies  complement  and  control  one  an- 
other. The  Chamber  of  Deputies  has  the  right  to  discuss 
and  to  vote  first  on  the  budget.  It  alone  has  the  power  to 
impeach  the  President  of  the  Republic  and  the  ministers. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Senate  may  constitute  itself  a 
Higher  Court  of  Justice  to  judge  the  President  and  the 
ministers  and  all  others  who  conspire  against  the  safety  of 
the  state. 

The  President  of  the  Republic  is  the  chief  executive.  He 
is  elected  for  seven  years  by  a  Congress  composed  of  the 
two  Houses,  and  may  be  re-elected.  These  are  his  powers: 
control  of  the  armed  forces  of  the  nation  for  the  mainten- 
ance or  the  restoration  of  order;  appointment  of  civil  and 
military  officials;  promulgation  of  the  laws;  signing  of 
treaties;  declaration  of  war  with  the  consent  of  the  Houses: 
and  the  right  of  pardon.  Though  he  may  exercise  a  great 
personal  influence,  in  practice  the  President  uses  but  spar- 
ingly his  constitutional  prerogatives. 

The  President  governs  through  ministers  who  are  respon- 
sible to  Parliament.  He  chooses  the  head  of  the  cabinet, 
or  the  president  of  the  council  of  ministers,  according  to 
the  indications  of  the  majority  in  the  two  Houses,  and 
generally  after  consulting  the  party  leaders.  But  the  head 
of  the  cabinet,  or  the  "Premier"  as  he  is  called  in  English, 
chooses  with  the  approval  of  the  President  the  different 
ministers  who  are  to  constitute  the  cabinet.  Parliamentary 
usage  requires  the  "Premier"  to  read  before  both  Houses 
a  statement  of  the  cabinet's  policy  and  to  ask  for  a  vote  of 
confidence.  The  vote  of  confidence  is  asked  for  on  different 
occasions,  but  notably  when  the  cabinet  thinks  it  has  not  the 


approval  of  the  Senate  or  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  an  im- 
portant question.  A  cabinet  that  fails  to  obtain  a  vote  of 
confidence  places  its  resignation  in  the  hands  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic.  This  system  differs  from  the  par- 
liamentary system  of  the  United  States.  The  French  system 
produces  cohesion  of  the  executive  and  legislative  powers 
and  constant  co-operation  of  the  government  with  the  par- 
liamentary majority.  But  one  of  the  disadvantages  is  the 
ministerial  instability  which  results  from  it.  Hence  the 
frequent  cabinet  crises  in  France.  But  this  instability  is 
counter-balanced  by  the  permanency  of  the  various  heads 
of  the  departments.  There  exist  also  permanent  boards 
for  the  army,  navy,  public  instruction,  etc. 

The  responsibility  of  the  cabinet  is  a  joint  one;  all  the 
ministers  resign  if  the  head  of  the  cabinet  resigns,  but  they 
may  become  members  of  the  next  cabinet. 

The  ministries  vary  in  number.  Some  are  permanent. 
The  most  important  are :  Foreign  Relations,  War,  Navy, 
Finance,  Interior,  Public  Works,  Public  Instruction,  Justice, 
Commerce,  Colonies,  Agriculture,  Post  and  Telegraph.  They 
correspond  in  general  to  the  different  departments  in  the 
American  government. 

Administratively,  France  is  divided  into  86  departments, 
which  are  again  subdivided  into  2,915  cantons  and  2,915 
communes.  These  divisions  date  back  to  the  Revolution, 
and  are  independent  of  geographical  and  historical  con- 
ditions. 

Every  department  is  administered  by  a  prefect,  appointed 
by  the  government.  The  prefect  is  assisted  by  a  general 
council  elected  by  the  people.  The  general  council  fixes 
the  departmental  budget,  assesses  taxes  but  has  no  political 
power.  It  can,  however,  express  wishes  which  are  bid 
before  the  government.  The  prefect  attends  the  meetings 
of  the  general  council,  but  he  has  no  vote. 

The  arrondissement  is  a  very  unimportant  cog  in  the 
governmental  wheel.  It  has  at  its  head  a  subprefect  who 
is  under  the  orders  of  the  prefect.  The  abolition  of  the 
arondissements  has  been   frequently   discussed. 

The  canton  composed  of  a  group  of  communes  is  essen- 
tially an  administrative  division.     It  is  the  seat  of  a  justice 

7 


of  peace,  of  a  "council  of  revision,"  an  organization  cor- 
responding to  the  present  American  draft  and  exemption 
board.  Delegates  from  the  canton  supervise  the  teaching  in 
private  and  public  schools. 

The  true  administrative  unit  is  the  commune.  It  is  ad- 
ministered by  a  municipal  council  elected  for  four  years  by 
universal  suffrage.  The  municipal  council  is  presided  over 
by  a  mayor  elected  by  its  members.  The  mayor  serves 
without  pay.  He  carries  out  the  decisions  of  the  munici- 
pal council.  He  is  the  chief  of  the  local  police,  but  is  also 
considered  as  the  delegate  of  the  central  power  whose  laws 
and  decrees  he  enforces.  The  municipal  council  comprises 
from  12  to  30  members  according  to  the  size  of  the 
commune. 

Paris  and  Lyons,  the  two  most  important  cities  in  Prance, 
have  a  somewhat  different  organization.  The  functions  of 
the  mayor  are  shared  in  Paris  by  the  prefect  of  police  and 
the  prefect  of  the  Seine,  both  appointed  by  the  government. 
Paris  has  a  municipal  council  elected  by  universal  suffrage, 
but  is  divided  into  several  arrondissements  at  the  head  of 
which  are  mayors  appointed  by  the  government  whose 
powers  are  limited. 

IV.      PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 

French  education  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  Minis- 
ter of  Public  Instruction.  It  is  divided  into  three  classes: 
primary  education,  secondary  education,  and  higher  edu- 
cation. Each  constitutes  a  special  department  at  whose 
head  is  a  director. 

Primary  education  is  free  and  compulsory.  The  teachers 
are  graduates  of  normal  schools  or  else  have  obtained  a 
special  certificate  conferred  by  the  government  after  a 
special  examination. 

The  schools  are  supported  partly  by  the  State  and  partly 
by  the  Commune.  The  total  budget  in  1913  was  about  225 
million  francs.  The  pupils  are  about  13  years  old  when  they 
leave  the  grammar  schools.  Those  who  wish  to  continue 
their  studies  enter  a  higher  primary  school  where  instruc- 
tion   is    largely  practical,   or   one   of  the   colleges   or  lycees 


which  will  be  described  later.  In  1913  106,564  pupils  were 
enrolled  in  the  primary  schools  of  France. 

Secondary  instruction  is  given  in  state  lycees  of  which 
there  are  112  with  62,000  students,  and  in  communal 
colleges  whose  number  is  231  with  37,000  students.  Except- 
ing the  universities  there  is  no  co-education  in  France. 
The  curriculum  for  the  girls  is  similar  to  that  of  the  boys. 
There  are  54  state  lycees  for  girls  with  23,000  students  and 
84  communal  colleges  with  13,000  students.  At  the  present 
time,  however,  there  are  more  private  than  public  institutions 
for  girls.  The  students  branch  off  early  into  several  groups 
of  study  such  as  Latin  and  Greek,  Latin  and  sciences,  Latin 
and  modern  languages,  sciences  and  modern  languages. 
But  certain  common  subjects  are  prescribed  for  all  groups, 
such  as  French  language  and  literature,  geography,  history, 
science,  history  of  philosophy,  and  at  least  one  modern 
language.  Students  receive  the  degree  of  Bachelor  upon 
the  successful  completion  of  their  courses  and  are  then 
permitted  to  enter  the  University  or  the  special  technical 
schools. 

The  teachers  of  secondary  schools  must  have  a  state 
degree.  The  degree  of  agregation  is  required  for  the  lycees; 
that  of  licence  for  the  colleges. 

The  universities  are  divided  into  the  traditional  four 
faculties,  viz.,  Law,  Medicine,  Sciences,  and  Letters.  While 
the  most  important  university  is  the  University  of  Paris,  the 
provincial  universities  have  in  recent  years  greatly  developed 
and  are  now  more  autonomous  than  in  the  past.  In  1914, 
there  were  42,037  students  in  the  French  universities,  6,188 
of  them  were  foreigners. 

The  university  professors  are  appointed  by  the  Minister 
of  Public  Instruction.  They  must  have  high  qualifications 
and  give  evidence  of  independant  scholarship. 

In  addition  to  the  universities  there  are  special  schools 
and  institutions  such  as  the  Ecole  Polytechnique,  Saint  Cyr 
for  the  army,  I'Ecole  Centrale  for  civil  engineers.  There  are 
six  national  and  ninety  technical  schools  of  Arts  and  Crafts; 
six  schools  of  Hydrography;  twelve  high  schools  and  thirty- 
seven  practical  schools  of  Commerce;  three  national  and 
forty-six  practical  Schools  of  Agriculture. 


The  development  of  the  educational  system  in  France  is 
comparatively  recent  and  is  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  the 
government  of  the  Third  Republic.  The  public  school 
teachers  compare  very  favorably  with  the  school  teachers 
of  any  other  nation,  and  the  high  standard  of  secondary 
education  in  France  is  generally  admitted.  The  French 
university  degrees  are  famous,  representing  conscientious 
research,  lucidity  of  presentation  and  independence  of 
judgment  in  a  variety  of  fields. 

V.      TRANSPORTATION 

France  has  the  most  complete  and  the  finest  system  of 
roads  in  the  world.  There  are  in  France  38,000  kilometers 
of  national  highways,  with  a  minimum  width  of  11  meters; 
15,000  kilometers  of  departmental  highways,  with  a  mini- 
mum width  of  8  meters;  165  kilometers  of  communal  roads; 
and  74,000  of  country  roads.  This  system  of  highways 
converges  towards  Paris  forming  a  sort  of  spider  web  of 
which  the  center  is  the  capital. 

The  part  played  by  the  roads  has  had  a  tendency  to 
diminish  since  the  development  of  the  railways.  It  has 
assumed  importance  again  with  the  automobile.  It  is  well 
known  how  the  French  are  making  use  of  their  roads  in 
the  present  war.  One  need  but  recall  the  defense  of  Verdun 
and  the  more  recent  transportation  of  troops  into  Italy. 

The  railroad  lines  are  laid  out  according  to  the  same 
general  plan  and  they  too  converge  towards  Paris,  except 
the  southern  lines.  France  has  40,000  kilometers  of  rail- 
roads, and  8,000  kilometers  of  local  railroads.  They  carry 
every  year  150  million  tons  of  freight  and  500  million 
passengers. 

The  lines  are  divided  in  six  big  districts  belonging  to 
private  companies  which  operate  them  under  the  control 
of  the  state.  The  western  state  railroad  (Ouest-Etat)  alone 
belongs  today  to  the  government. 

Canals  have  a  comparatively  small  importance.  France 
has  12,000  kilometers  of  water  ways,  7,200  kilometers  of 
which  are  rivers  and  4,800  canals.  They  carry  a  total 
freight  of  35  million  tons.  Paris,  which  is  the  most  import- 
ant fresh  water  port,  receives  alone  10  million  tons  by  the 

10 


canals.  These  figures  naturally  have  increased  since  the 
beginning-  of  the  war.  There  has  been  a  regular  service 
betw^een  Paris  and  London  for  several  years. 

VI.      COMMERCE 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  total  yearly  production 
of  wealth  in  France  amounts  to  132  billion  francs,  of  which 
12  billion  are  derived  from  agriculture  and  120  from  in- 
dustry. 

The  foreign  trade  of  France  amounted  in  1911  to  14,143 
million.  In  the  same  year  British  trade  rose  to  about  31,200 
million,  that  of  Germany  to  about  21,700  million,  and  that 
of  the  United  States  to  about  18,300  million. 

The  relative  inferiority  of  French  foreign  trade  may  be 
largely  explained  by  the  fact  that  France  is  essentially 
agricultural  and  more  or  less  self  supporting. 

In  1913  the  merchant  ships  aggregated  947,205  tons  for 
steamships,  and  460,253  for  sailing  vessels. 

The  chief  port  is  Marseilles.  The  opening  since  the  war 
of  a  nev7  canal  bored  through  the  hills  which  surround 
the  city  will  greatly  enlarge  it  and  connect  it  with  the 
Rhone  river.  After  Marseilles  come  le  Havre,  Cherbourg, 
Bordeaux,  and  Rouen.  France  has  a  number  of  well  located 
ports,  but  often  insufficiently  equipped  with  modern  machin- 
ery. Since  the  war  great  progress  has  been  made  in  this 
respect  and  the  foreign  trade  of  France  promises  to  develop 
greatly  in  the  future. 

In  1911,  8,066  million  francs  of  goods  were  imported, 
and  6,077  million  were  exported. 

Importations  comprised,  first,  raw  materials,  textile,  silk, 
wool,  cotton,  English  and  Belgian  coal,  and  timber  from 
Norway  and  Russia.  Next  in  order  came  articles  of  food 
such  as  wheat,  coffee,  and  wine.  Manufactured  articles 
came  last.  These  were  principally  English  and  American 
m.achinery. 

The  exportations  comprised  first  of  all  manufactured 
articles  amounting  to  more  than  3,510  million.  Raw  ma- 
terials amounted  to  no  more  than  1,830  million;  foodstuffs 
occupied  the  last  place  with  737  million. 

11 


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iPeronne 


ALLENAGNE 


ITALIE 


MEDITERRANEE 


In  commercial  relations  with  France,  Great  Britain 
occupies  the  first  place:  importations  933  millions;  exporta- 
tions,  1,216.  Germany  comes  next  with  795  million  of  im- 
portations and  1,774  of  exportations.  Belgium:  Importa- 
tions, 542  million;  exportations,  1,024  million,  and  the 
United  States:  importations,  826  million;  exportations,  380 
million.  It  may  be  seen  from  these  figures  that  America 
is  a  very  good  customer  of  France. 

The  commercial  situation  will  no  doubt  undergo  radical 
changes  everywhere  after  peace  is  restored.  The  war  has 
already  affected  and  modified  to  a  large  extent  French  in- 
dustries, and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  commercial  standing 
of  France  in  the  world  trade  will  be  greatly  increased. 

VII.      INDUSTRIES 

According  to  the  statistics  of  1906,  of  the  20  million 
people  who  lived  from  the  product  of  their  work,  9  million 
were  employed  in  agriculture  and  a  little  less  than  6  million 
in  industry.  The  richest  portion  of  France  from  an  indus- 
trial point  of  view  is  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  has 
therefore  been  necessary  to  create  new  industries  and  to 
build  new  factories  in  the  last  four  years.  This  necessity 
has  given  to  French  industry  a  new  impulse.  Manufacturers 
who  before  the  war  specialized  in  the  production  of  a  small 
number  of  well  wrought  and  finished  articles  are  now  obliged 
to  learn  how  to  produce  things  on  a  so-called  "wholesale 
scale."  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  lesson 
thus  learned  will  not  be  forgotten. 

In  the  past,  the  chief  obstacle  to  French  industrial 
development  was  a  scarcity  of  coal.  Just  before  the  war, 
France  produced  40  million  tons,  but  had  to  import  almost 
20  million.  Much  is  expected  from  the  development  of  the 
hydraulic  power  of  water  falls  and  torrents.  In  this  field 
much  has  already  been  accomplished.  Only  200,000  H.P. 
were  utilized  in  1902;  but  in  1917  more  than  1,200,000  H.P. 
were  used.  This  is  but  a  small  part  of  a  power  which  has 
been  evaluated  at  more  than  6  million  H.P.,  or  more  than 
half  of  all  the  mechanical  power  employed  in  France  in 
normal  times. 


On  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  abundance  of  iron  ore. 
Almost  20  million  tons  were  extracted  in  1912,  of  which 
the  department  of  Meurthe-et-Moselle  alone  yielded  more 
than  16  million.  From  1908  to  1912  the  production  in- 
creased 91  per  cent,  and  just  before  the  war  France  was 
third  in  the  production  of  iron,  behind  the  United  States  (60 
million  tons)  and  Germany  (27  million),  but  ahead  of  Great 
Britain,  Sweden,  Spain  and  Luxembourg-.  In  1912,  8,324,- 
000  tons  were  exported  to  Belgium,  Germany,  Holland  and 
England.  Since  the  war,  other  and  less  rich  mines  which 
had  been  known  for  a  long  time  have  been  opened.  It  is  said 
that  Germany  made  her  desperate  assaults  upon  Verdun  in 
order  to  gain  possession  of  the  mines  of  Meurthe-et-Moselle 
and  cripple  the  French  industries.  France  is  rich  in  alumi- 
num ore.  In  1912,  260,000  tons  were  extracted.  The 
production  of  aluminum  (10,200  tons)  places  France  just 
behind  the   United    States    (22,000    tons). 

In  other  minerals  France  is  less  favored.  Her  colonies 
of  Northern  Africa,  however,  produce  2,510,000  tons  of 
phosphate,  which  places  France  just  behind  the  United 
States.  Stone  quarries  are  numerous  and  there  is  a  great 
abundance  of  material  for  construction.  France  in  1912 
exported  more  than  240,000  tons  of  cement.  She  could  find 
on  her  soil  the  necessary  material  with  which  to  reconstruct 
her  destroyed  cities. 

Zinc,  lead,  antimony  are  to  be  found  in  paying  quantities. 
Gold  diggings  produce  about  8  million  francs  a  year.  The 
mineral  waters  which  are  well  known  all  over  the  world  con- 
stitute another  source  of  wealth. 

Of  all  the  French  industries  the  textile  industry  is  the 
most  important.  It  employs  about  a  million  people.  The 
chemical  industries  had  attained  just  before  the  war  an 
important  development,  and  France  ranked  third  after  the 
United  States  and  Germany.  The  export  of  perfumery  was 
estimated  at  30  million  francs.  In  the  production  of  cel- 
luloid France  was  first.  On  the  average  807,000  tons  of 
sugar  were  produced  before  the  war,  the  greater  part 
coming  from  regions  now  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
production    of    industrial    alcohol    amounted    to    2.291,000 


hectoliters.  Secondary  industries  and  industries  of  luxury 
extremely  varied,  are  scattered  all  over  the  country.  We 
only  mention  glass,  paper,  tanneries,  potteries,  food  products 
and  automobiles. 

VIII.     AGRICULTURE 

Like  industry,  agriculture  in  France  is  remarkable  for 
its  variety.  France  produces  everything,  but  in  limited 
quantities.  The  variety  of  the  climate,  and  the  parcelling 
out  of  the  land  (there  are  in  France  not  less  than  8,000,000 
small  land  owners  of  whom  5,500,000  are  farmers)  deter- 
mine this  particular  agricultural  condition. 

The  total  surface  of  France  covers  133  million  acres: 
98  million  are  cultivated;  25  million  are  covered  with  woods 
and  forests;  9  and  a  half  million  are  marshes  and  moors. 

France  is  a  country  of  wheat  and  wine — two  elements 
constitutive  of  the  food  ration  of  her  inhabitants.  In  spite 
of  the  small  extent  of  her  territory,  France  is  third  in  the 
production  of  wheat,  coming  with  an  average  of  82  million 
hundredweight  per  year,  after  the  United  States  and  Russia. 
This  quantity  almost  suffices  for  her  consumption  in  normal 
times.  But  when  the  harvest  is  deficient  France  has  to 
import  between  10  and  20  million  hundredweight,  for  the 
French  are  the  greatest  bread-eaters  in  the  world.  The 
present  shortage  of  wheat  in  France  can  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  the  French  farmers  have  been  mobilized;  the  wo- 
men themselves  have  to  a  certain  extent  left  the  farms  to 
work  in  ammunition  factories  and  increase  the  output  of 
shells  and  guns  necessary  for  the  defense  of  the  country. 

The  production  of  wine  is  subject  from  year  to  year  to 
great  fluctuations.  The  average  of  production  from  1900 
to  1910  was  14  million  gallons.  Only  well  known  and 
expensive  vintages  are  exported.  The  export  of  wine  is, 
however,  one  of  the  most  important  constituents  of  French 
foreign  trade. 

Food  industries  are  numerous  and  certain  products  are 
exported  to  England  and  to  Switzerland.  Garden  products 
have  increased  during  the  last  few  years.  Although  in  cer- 
tain regions  products  are  determined  by  the  climate,  such 


as  sug-ar  beets  in  the  north,  wheat  in  the  plains  of  Beauce, 
and  wine  in  the  south  and  the  valley  of  Loire,  the  French 
farmer  endeavors  to  grow  on  his  farm  all  that  he  needs  for 
his  sustenance,  and  consequently  specializes  less  than  the 
American  farmer. 

Cattle  breeding  has  seen  a  considerable  growth  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  France  had  before  the  war  about  15 
million  cattle;  7  million  hogs;  about  3  million  horses;  18 
million  sheep  and  a  million  and  a  half  goats.  In  1915  the 
number  of  cattle  was  reduced  to  12  million  and  the  number 
of  hogs  to  5  million. 

The  -parcelling  out  of  the  land  interferes  with  the  me- 
chanical cultivation  of  the  soil.  Nevertheless  under  the 
Third  Republic  the  French  peasants  have  made  remarkable 
progress,  owing  to  the  organization  of  agricultural  syndi- 
cates which  pool  their  resources  to  buy  machinery  and 
fertilizers.  The  progress  has  been  more  marked  since  the 
government  has  founded  agricultural  schools  and  provided 
insurance  for  farmers  and  agricultural  workers. 

IX.      COLONIES 

French  colonies  constitute  for  France  a  source  of  wealth 
hitherto  little  known. 

The  colonial  empire  of  France  is  only  second  to  that  of 
Great  Britain.  It  covers  a  surface  of  10  million  and  a  half 
kilometers,  with  a  population  of  48  million.  Its  commerce 
amounts  to  3  billion  francs  a  year. 

The  most  important  possession  of  France  in  Africa  is 
Algiers,  which  covers  almost  3  million  square  kilometers 
including  the  Sahara  desert.  Its  population  is  5  million 
and  a  half  (5,492,569),  made  up  of  different  elements. 
Europeans  are  in  the  minority  with  752,000,  of  whom  nearly 
500,000  are  French.  The  natives  numbering  4,740,500  are 
divided  into  Berbers,  Moors  and  Jews;  there  is  also  a  certain 
number  of  negroes.  Until  now  Algiers  has  been  a  pre- 
eminently agricultural  colony  in  which  irrigation  is  well 
developed.  But  the  mines  are  also  very  important.  In 
1912,  1,240,000  tons  of  iron  were  extracted  and  exported. 
Copper,  zinc  and  lead  ores  are  also  extracted.  Unfort- 
unatelv  there  is  no  coal. 


Algiers  is  situated  between  two  protectorates,  Tunis  and 
Morocco,  both  very  rich.  Tunis  has  great  mining  resources 
in  iron  and  phosphates.  As  for  Morocco,  the  northern  part 
of  which  has  been  conceded  to  Spain,  it  is  a  country  of 
great  promise  though  little  known.  Even  during  the  war 
France  has  carried  on  the  systematic  development  of  the 
country. 

The  other  French  colonies  in  Africa  are  Eastern  French 
Africa  and  Equatorial  French  Africa.  Owing  to  the  climate 
they  do  not  lend  themselves  to  the  same  development. 
Nevertheless,  Equatorial  French  Africa  was  already  promis- 
ing to  become  very  prosperous  when  it  was  mutilated  by  the 
Franco-German  agreement  of  the  4th  of  November,  1911. 
France,  going  to  the  limit  of  concessions  to  avoid  a  break 
with  Germany,  abandoned  at  that  time  important  territories. 
Equatorial  French  Africa  is  now  divided  into  three  uncon- 
nected segments. 

On  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa,  France  possesses  the 
coast  of  Somaliland,  with  Obock  and  Djibouti,  and  in  the 
Indian  ocean  the  Comores  archipelago,  the  Reunion  island 
and  the  great  island  of  Madagascar,  of  which  the  surface  is 
almost  as  large  as  that  of  France,  Belgium  and  Holland 
together.  This  last  island  is  very  rich  but  still  thinly  pop- 
ulated, with  only  three  million  and  a  half  inhabitants. 

Of  her  ancient  Indian  possessions,  France  has  retained 
only  five  cities  separated  from  one  another.  They  are  of 
little  importance. 

On  the  other  hand,  French  Indo-China  constitutes  a 
domain  of  803,000  square  kilometers  whose  population 
amounts  to  about  16  million.  The  native  with  an  advanced 
civilization  form  the  majority  of  the  population.  The  French 
colonial  policy  in  Indo-China  has  always  been  to  encourage 
the  progress  of  the  natives  rather  than  to  colonize. 

The  possessions  in  the  Pacific  ocean  are  less  important. 
They  comprise  New  Caledonia  and  its  dependencies,  Tahiti 
being  the  best  known. 

In  America,  in  addition  to  the  islands  Saint  Pierre  and 
Miquelon  situated  near  Newfoundland,  important  only  as 
fisheries,  France  possesses  the  French  West  Indies,  Guada- 
loupe,   Martinique   and   their   dependencies.      On   the   South 


American  continent,  Guyana  is  the  only  French  possession 
and  is  still  undeveloped. 

With  her  colonies  France  forms  an  empire  second  only 
to  that  of  Great  Britain  and  Russia  but  ahead  of  China  an^l 
the  United  States,  despite  the  small  extent  of  her  European 
territory.  In  population  she  occupies  the  fifth  place,  com- 
ing- after  China,  the  British  Empire,  Russia  and  the  United 
States.  It  should  be  noted  that  almost  the  whole  of  this 
colonial  empire  was  founded  during  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury and  greatly  developed  since  1870.  These  colonial 
accomplishments  must  be  taken  into  account  to  gain  a 
just  estimate  of  France.  This  vast  empire  was  created 
just  after  a  disastrous  war  that  cost  her  an  indemnity  so 
enormous  that  Germany  thought  it  sufficient  to  ruin  her. 
Here  we  have  an  exhibition  of  a  vitality  which  even  her 
enemy  is  obliged  to  recognize. 

The  principles  of  French  colonization  are  today  generally 
accepted.  Doubtful  it  seemed  at  first  whether  it  would 
not  have  been  more  practical  to  pursue  a  policy  of  assimila- 
tion, that  is  to  say,  to  substitute  for  the  language  and  the 
culture  of  the  natives  the  language  and  the  culture  of 
France.  But  the  method  of  France  is  simply  the  applica- 
tion of  the  maxim  of  Waldeck-Rousseau,  to-wit,  to  develop 
the  natives  in  the  light  of  their  own  civilization. 

X.      THE   WAR 

Since  1872  military  service  has  been  obligatory  for  all 
able-bodied  Frenchmen  from  21  to  45.  The  length  of  the 
service  in  the  army  has  varied.  After  reducing  it  to  two 
years  it  was  raised  again  to  three  years  before  the  present 
war.  The  active  army  in  time  of  peace  amounted  to  500,000. 
With  all  the  reserves  France  could  mobilize  3,760,000  men, 
Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  could  with  less  effort  raise  an 
army  of  five  million. 

What  France  has  done  since  the  beginning  of  the  war 
was  stated  in  July,  1917,  in  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Andre 
Tardieu,  High  Commissioner  of  the  Republic  to  the  United 
States,  to  Mr.  Baker,  American  secretary  of  war.  These 
data  compared  with  more  recent  figures  may  be  summarized 
as  follows: 

19 


The  number  of  men  mobilized  at  the  front  and  near 
the  front  now  amounts  to  about  three  million,  exceeding 
by  a  million  the  number  of  men  mobilized  at  the  beginning. 
To  these  must  be  added  the  men  kept  at  the  rear  in  the  war 
factories  and  in  the  colonies.  The  casualties  have  constantly 
decreased  owing  to  the  progress  made  in  tactics  and  to  the 
development  of  heavy  artillery.  The  medical  services  also 
have  been  greatly  improved.  For  these  reasons  France  is 
certain  to  maintain  her  strength  in  the  future.  About 
January,  1918,  the  distribution  of  the  allied  forces  along 
the  front  was  as  follows:  25  kilometers  were  held  by  the 
Belgians,  165  kilometers  by  the  British,  565  by  the  French. 
In  addition,  the  French  occupy  part  of  the  Italian  front  and 
Saloniki. 

The  heavy  artillery  which  scarcely  existed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  numbers  today  over  6,000  guns.  In  the 
recent  offensives  the  French  could  bring  a  heavy  gun  for 
every  25  meters  of  the  front.  The  total  number  of  guns  of 
all  calibers,  not  including  trench  artillery,  exceeds   15,000. 

The  output  of  ammunition  has  increased  in  the  same 
proportion.  Many  private  factories  have  been  transformed 
and  new  ones  have  been  built.  In  1917  France  manu- 
factured daily  250,000  shells  for  the  75  millimeter  guns  and 
100,000  shells  for  the  heavy  guns.  In  addition  the  French 
government  has  completely  re-equipped  the  Belgian  and 
the  Serbian  armies.  She  has  provided  her  allies  with  2,500 
cannons,  4,750  airplanes,  10,000  machine  guns,  15,000  auto- 
matic guns  and  1,350,000  rifles.  According  to  a  recent 
statement  of  Mr.  Baker,  the  American  secretary  of  war, 
France  has  developed  her  industrial  resources  to  such  an 
extent  that  she  can  today  manufacture  a  large  part  of  the 
artillery  needed  by  the  American  army. 

What  France  has  done  financially  is  no  less  significant. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  she  has  spent  the  following 
sums: 

1914 8,040  million  francs 

1915 22,000  million  francs     ' 

1916 32,640  million  francs 

1917 41,000  million  francs 


From  the  first  of  August,  1914,  to  January,  1918,  she 
borrowed  in  foreign  countries  nineteen  billion  francs  and 
loaned  to  various  allied  governments  six  billions. 

Without  introducing  radical  changes  in  the  life  of  the 
nation  such  results  could  not  have  been  obtained.  Dis- 
tributed between  the  front  and  the  war-factories  men  had  to 
leave  the  farms,  and  many  women  who  before  the  war  had 
been  employed  in  various  agricultural  industries  are  work- 
ing today  in  ammunition  plants.  France  is  far  from  being 
*'bled  white,"  as  has  been  said  too  often.  However,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  in  many  respects  she  needs  the  help  and 
co-operation  of  her  allies  to  continue  the  military  struggle 
to  which  she  has  devoted  all  her  energies  since  August,  1914. 

XI.      THE  FRENCH  PEOPLE 

Because  of  the  very  diversity  of  the  French  people,  to 
which  we  have  already  alluded,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  give 
a  satisfactory  definition  of  the  French  character.  Those 
who  have  travelled  and  lived  in  France  are  well  aware  how 
widely  her  inhabitants  differ  in  temperament  and  character. 
Many  hasty  judgments  and  prejudices  are  still  current.  It 
may  not  be  amiss  therefore  to  indicate  briefly  their  origin. 

The  French  people  have  often  been  misrepresented  as 
incapable  of  sustained  eflTort  and  as  impatient  of  every 
form  of  government.  Certain  episodes  of  her  history  have 
been  viciously  seized  upon  to  disseminate  prejudices  against 
the  French.  For  the  faults  committed  in  the  past  by  gov- 
ernments not  of  the  people's  own  free  choice,  the  whole 
nation  has  often  been  indicted.  There  has  been  a  tendency 
to  define  the  French  people  as  light,  brilliant,  gay,  polite, 
possessing  talents  for  the  minor  arts,  but  incapable  of  pro- 
ducing geniuses  of  the  first  rank.  The  words  of  Matthew 
Arnold,  ''France  famed  in  all  great  arts  in  none  supreme," 
have  too  often  been  quoted  with  approval.  But  such  a  con- 
ception is  only  possible  by  ignoring  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  France  and  by  disregarding  the  conditions  which 
prevail  there  today. 

Because  they  can  find  in  their  own  country  almost  all  the 
necessities  of  life  the  French  have  never  aspired  to  become 

21 


conquerors.  In  their  history  they  have  shown  to  better 
advantage  in  wars  of  defense  than  in  wars  of  conquest. 
Conquerors  such  as  Louis  XIV  and  Napoleon  were  indeed 
able  at  certain  historic  moments  to  lead  the  French  people 
astray,  only  to  be  deprecated  when  French  independence  of 
judgment  asserted  itself.  On  the  other  hand,  they  have  al- 
ways fought  with  tenacity  to  defend  the  country  from 
invaders,  and  on  such  occasions  have  displayed  heroic  efforts 
to  retain  their  national  independence. 

The  internal  history  of  France,  for  the  last  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  is  the  history  of  a  nation  that  has  endeavored 
unceasingly  and  constantly  to  gain  its  political  liberties. 
These  liberties  were  very  difficult  to  make  stable  at  one 
stroke  in  a  country  where  traditions  were  so  deeply  rooted. 
One  must  avoid  the  mistake  of  judging  France  from  the 
point  of  view  of  America.  We  must  not  compare  a  new 
country  which  has  developed  its  institutions  without  being 
hampered  by  the  past  with  a  country  burdened  with  a  long 
history  and  obliged  to  tear  down  ancient  institutions  to  build 
up  a  new  social  order.  It  is  only  in  our  day,  under  the  Third 
Republic,  that  the  French  can  enjoy  the  liberties  for  which 
they  have  so  long  struggled.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising 
to  find  among  them,  in  their  institutions  and  their  customs, 
many  ancient  traditions  that  may  seem  strange  to  those  who 
associate  France  with  a  spirit  essentially  revolutionary. 

One  should  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  France  is  an 
agricultural  country,  a  country  rather  of  small  land  owners 
than  of  captains  of  industry.  Out  of  38  million  inhabitants 
there  are  in  France  8  million  people  who  own  a  piece  of  land. 
According  to  the  census  of  1906  there  were  in  France  20 
million  people  wo'rking  for  their  living.  They  were  distri- 
buted as  follows  according  to  their  occupations:  agriculture, 
8,777,053;  industries,  5,979,216;  commerce,  2,002,681; 
liberal  professions,  483,179;  government  service,  including 
the  army,  1,220,154;  domestic  service,  1,012,232;  mines, 
281,027;  fisheries,  78,000.  The  agricultural  workers  and  the 
owners  of  small  farms  constituted  consequently  a  large 
majority.  These  farms  often  represent  the  work  of  several 
generations  and  are  transmitted  from  father  to  son.     Just 

22 


as  in  other  countries  so  in  France  the  cities  draw  many  men 
away  from  the  farms,  but  the  French  still  have  a  love  for 
the  soil  and  their  home. 

The  French  peasant  has  endurance  and  patience;  he  is 
thrifty  and  sober.  Such  qualities  make  him  rank  among 
the  first  farmers  of  the  world.  These  qualities  are  also 
found  among  the  middle  class  and  among  government  offi- 
cials. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  government  servants  more 
honest  and  with  a  greater  sense  of  duty  than  the  French. 
Their  faults  being  of  these  very  qualities  inhibit  somewhat 
their  initiative  and  account  for  a  certain  narrowness  and 
timidity. 

The  artisans  as  they  were  once  called,  or  the  workers  as 
they  are  called  today,  have  gained  an  important  place  in  the 
nineteenth  century  with  the  development  of  industry. 
France,  in  common  with  every  modern  nation,  has  had  some 
difficulties  with  this  new  element,  which  congregated  in  the 
great  cities  and,  confined  to  a  limited  area,  showed  itself 
more  impulsive  and  more  impatient  than  the  inhabitants  of 
small  towns  and  the  country.  The  proletariat  may  be  said  to 
form  a  certain  political  party,  but  do  not  constitute  a  dis- 
tinctive class.  Many  of  them  are  peasants  or  the  sons  of 
peasants,  but  all  of  them  are  before  everything  else  French- 
men and  like  all  Frenchmen  are  under  the  influence  of 
tradition. 

Common  sense,  moderation,  honesty,  and  courage — these 
are  the  reserve  moral  forces  of  the  French  people.  Their 
vivid  imagination,  however,  makes  them  liable  to  be  mis- 
understood by  foreigners.  The  French  have  also  a  passion- 
ate love  for  ideas  which  they  pursue  with  a  rigorous  logic 
so  characteristic  of  their  political  and  religious  discussions. 
But  they  are  not,  as  they  are  often  represented  to  be, 
emotional  and  suggestible,  ready  to  yield  without  resistance 
to  their  first  impulse.  A  study  of  their  history  shows  that 
France  has  followed  an  orderly  line  of  development.  The 
motto  of  the  Republic  "Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity,"  in  a 
sense  still  expresses  their  ideal.  However  diflicult  of  attain- 
ment in  the  world  as  it  is  at  present  constituted,  this  ideal 
the  French  have  constantly  endeavored  to  approach. 

23 


The  union  of  common  sense  and  imagination,  qualities 
seemingly  contradictory,  explains  the  character  of  French 
literature.  French  literature  never  completely  expresses 
French  society  at  a  given  time.  The  classical  period  which 
recognized  the  sovereignty  of  reason  was  followed  by  roman- 
ticism proclaiming  the  superiority  of  imagination.  But  it  is 
significant  to  bear  in  mind  that  this  very  romanticism  soon 
made  way  for  a  realistic  reaction.  At  different  periods  one 
of  the  two  fundamental  tendencies  of  the  French  people 
dominates  in  literature.  While  the  one  holds  sway  the  other 
never  completely  disappears,  the  true  character  of  the 
French  remaining  the  same  throughout. 

The  marriage  of  the  two  qualities  just  noted  appears  in 
a  more  striking  form  in  the  French  scientists.  The  French 
scientist  is  endowed  with  imagination  necessary  for  great 
discoveries  and  for  systematic  construction,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  he  also  possesses  infinite  patience,  without  which  there 
can  be  no  true  scientific  genius.  One  of  the  most  glorious 
examples  of  a  scientist  in  whom  these  two  qualities  are 
found  united  was  Pasteur.  His  discoveries  have  revolution- 
ized biology,  but  he  obtained  his  results  through  careful 
observations  and  minute   experiments. 

Imagination  and  common  sense  are  not  found  in  the 
same  degree  among  all  the  representatives  of  a  people  that 
comprises  almost  40  million  individuals.  No  doubt  many 
secondary  traits  might  be  marked.  But  the  two  we  have 
mentioned  seem  fundamental  and  permanent.  The  present 
war  has  revealed  to  the  world  the  true  nature  of  the  French 
people.  France  has  not  changed  her  national  characteristics 
in  a  day.  A  careful  examination  shows  that  the  qualities 
which  the  French  soldiers  have  displayed  on  the  battle  field, 
on  the  Marne  or  at  Verdun,  are  the  very  qualities  that 
characterize  the  French  people  in  their  daily  life. 


mr 


